Sponsors sought for Junior Jazz Foundation in Hilton Head

In 1999, Bob and Lois Masteller opened The Jazz Corner on Hilton Head Island to revive live jazz music in the Lowcountry.

Recently, The Jazz Corner was voted one of the top jazz clubs in the entire world. But jazz cannot survive without musicians, so the Mastellers founded the nonprofit Junior Jazz Foundation.

“The foundation has been in existence for seven years, now going into eight years,” Masteller says. “In the early years, we always had two missions, one to support the schools and all the education endeavors in jazz and music.

“It takes the form of money raised through performances and activities through the year to concentrate on equipment like instruments, scholarships and programs,” he says. “It’s got a good track record on that.

“We’ve supported six different schools with varying degrees of instrumentation they need, like keyboards. We just delivered 16 violins to a school that is starting a string program.”

That’s just one part of the foundation’s work. “The other side of the mission is to sponsor great jazz to the area,” Masteller says.

“We always do a lot of concerts and take all the proceeds back to the foundation,” he says. “We keep replenishing that fund to do those programs.”

Currently, the foundation is searching for sponsors. “We do fundraising and sponsorship at lower levels,” Masteller says.

“Right now, our primary need is contributions in varying levels up to $500,” he says. “We need anyone who would like to sponsor a concert or series of concerts for part of the season as a donor or sponsor.”

Patrons or businesses can sponsor an evening of jazz for around $1,500. Benefactors can help cover the cost of bringing in national musicians for a weekend, and corporate sponsors are invited to participate in the ‘Four Seasons of Jazz’ series of concerts.

The foundation started a jazz camp for kids ages 11-19 a year ago. “We’ve tripled the size of the camp and faculty and are looking to expand,” Masteller says.

Masteller’s interest in giving back follows his father’s legacy. “He was a jazz violinist in the early part of the 20th century,” he says.

“He mentored me. He always emphasized that kids need a chance.

“Music is not easy to teach,” Masteller says. “Some kids have a need for financial help, others have a need for excellent programs, and we try to help with that.”

Mentoring is an important part of jazz’s legacy. “If you look at young jazz artists, they all have a story about somebody who reached out and helped them,” Masteller says.

“I had a lucky break in life with my father. I didn’t do that well in the school program, but when my father got me off to the side and said, ‘Do this, play that,’ I started to get it.

“We have some of the great artists coming from the international community who had fathers who were there big time in the early part of the jazz era,” Masteller says. “That’s a consistent pattern that is there.”

Masteller himself is a well-known jazz performer and historian. He plays several instruments, but had a career in business.

“My whole career from my early 30s was built around Hilton Head Island,” Masteller says. “I came to work for Charles Frazier to be a human resources guy.

“I saw that changes in the island were gradual,” he says. “As I was nearing retirement, I was thinking about opening a jazz club.

“When I got to about 1996 or 1997, I concluded there was enough of a core structure here that if I put together a quality club, Hilton Head would support it,” Masteller says. “It was a terrific struggle to get the club started, but once I did, I proved it could deliver consistent quality.”

The Jazz Corner opened in March 1999 with a performance by piano legend George Shearing. “We have also been honored to have Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Freddy Cole, Mose Allison, Ben Tucker and Rossano Sportiello appear at The Jazz Corner, just to name a few,” says general manager Kelly Lesch.

The club has grown steadily. “For about six to seven years, I knew we were going to have to go through some difficult times,” Masteller says. “You just can’t build it overnight.

“But I’ve been amazed at the last four to five years,” he says. “The club has gotten national and international attention. People who come love the atmosphere.”

That atmosphere is a direct result of Masteller’s own experiences. “When I was 10 years old in 1948, I lived in a small town,” he says.

“I was from a family of five. I was the youngest and had three sisters and a brother. 1948 to 1956 were formative years for me. That small town was like Camelot.

“Because my father was so well known in jazz, in the music business, people used to love to come to our house,” Masteller says. “It was always like a mini jazz session going on.”

People felt comfortable in the house, Masteller says. “I just had this great life where I watched all this unfold,” he says.

“People of all ages would come into the house. Being an HR guy in corporate life, I felt that I could build something like that in the jazz business, a club where everyone feels comfortable.”

The crowds at the club are diverse. “People make the comment, ‘We feel at home,’” Masteller says. “The staff is serving them that way.

“That’s important because jazz won’t do it alone,” he says. “Jazz is a culture. That’s why people want to come back there. Our challenge is to continue to provide that.”